Suit claims excessive force by Schuyler jail employee

RUSHVILLE — A Schuyler County resident has brought a complaint against the Schuyler County Sheriff’s Department alleging that excessive force was used against her, resulting in a miscarriage, and that her Fourth Amendment rights were violated.

Schuyler County resident Hope Cox filed a suit Dec. 4 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois, claiming that Schuyler County Correctional Officer Nick Gregory exercised excessive force in a Sept. 3 incident at Schuyler County Jail.

The lawsuit, which presents only one side of the story, claims that Cox, who was serving a sentence on weekends for driving on a revoked license, was being reprimanded Sept. 3 for her phone usage. Gregory and Cox got into an argument with the cell bars between them and Gregory told Cox he was taking her to isolation.

According to the suit, Gregory opened Cox’s cell without additional officers to assist and, when Cox went to gather her property to take with her to isolation, Gregory pulled a taser and pointed it at Cox. Cox put her hands in the air to comply and Gregory put his taser away but grabbed Cox, according to the suit.

Gregory allegedly pulled his taser again and shot Cox in the back, after which Cox fell to the ground. Cox then was “violently” cuffed — injuring her back and shoulder — dragged out of her cell and escorted to isolation, again in a “violent” manner, the suit said. Sometime between being escorted to isolation and being left there, she was choked to the ground, Cox’s suit alleges.

Later that day, Cox was interviewed, her injuries photographed, and she was released from the jail at 5 p.m. She later went to Culbertson Hospital in Rushville for treatment. Cox, who was five weeks pregnant at the time, went to Graham Hospital on Sept. 10 after waking up and discovering she was bleeding. She was told she had suffered a miscarriage.

Cox’s suit alleges that Gregory used excessive force and violated her Fourth Amendment right to be free from excessive and unreasonable search and seizure. The suit extends to the Schuyler County Sheriff’s Office as Gregory’s employer.

Cox is seeking a jury trial with relief and compensatory damages to be determined by the courts, along with attorney’s fees and court costs to be covered by the defendant.

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Story updated Dec. 19, 2017, to correct that Cox was five weeks pregnant at the time.

Nick Draper can be reached at 217-245-6121, ext. 1223, or on Twitter @nick_draper.